Decision-making
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Why small annoyances can harm us more than big disruptions
A largely forgotten psychological concept helps explain the insidiousness of minor problems – and what to do about it
by Shayla Love
Habits and routines
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Is it better to live in ‘clock time’ or ‘event time’?
Do you stick to a set schedule, or have a looser relationship to the clock? It can affect more than how you plan your day
by Shayla Love
Mind and brain
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What is it like to remember all the faces you’ve ever seen?
They’ve been studied by researchers and recruited by police forces, but what’s it actually like to be a super-recogniser?
by Shayla Love
Goals and motivation
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Facing a tedious to-do list? This trick could make it easier
The ‘easy addendum effect’: how careful timing of your easier tasks could help you feel better at the end of the day
by Shayla Love
Learning and education
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This is how to nurture curiosity in children (and yourself)
The curiosity that comes naturally to babies and young children can soon wilt – but there are ways to help it grow
by Shayla Love
Music
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What is it about musical hooks that makes them so catchy?
From hummable riffs to striking lyrics, the catchiest hooks tell us something about the limits of human attention and memory
by Tim Byron & Jadey O’Regan
Work and vocation
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Why AI surveillance at work leads to perverse outcomes
In the name of efficiency, workplace AI technologies shift burdens long-assumed by employers onto workers
by Karen Levy
Technology and media
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The pleasure, the pain and the politics of a digital detox
Studying why and how people take digital-media breaks can reveal what individuals and societies value in unmediated spaces
by Trine Syvertsen
Focus and attention
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Go on, admit it. You’re multitasking. Here’s how to do it better
Our limited mental resources make multitasking inefficient. As you’re unlikely to stop it, you can learn to do it better
by Virginia Clinton-Lisell
Mind and brain
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Slow down, it’s what your brain has been begging for
It’s no small task to live a life of sustained attention. So slow down, and give your brain a break to do its work
by Teodora Stoica
Thinking and intelligence
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When a tricky task makes your brain hurt, here’s what to do
Although thinking hard is a daily experience, psychologists are only just beginning to understand how aversive it can be
by Todd Vogel
Focus and attention
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Sometimes, paying attention means we see the world less clearly
Does attention distort knowledge, or am I overthinking it? What visual illusions say about the secret workings of the mind
by Henry Taylor